Surprise! I'm alive! This chapter has actually been done for a while...but my beta didn't beta it? o.O Dunno. Anyway...since we last spoke I had exams (5 A's and a B this semester...not bad for a senior in college), gymnastics State (2nd on floor...sooo close), Dance Semester Show, I moved out of my apartment (THANK GOD), completely unpacked (it's been a busy day...) and drank a lot (happy birthday to me).

I don't honestly remember who I have to thank in this chapter (it COULD be because I just finished off a glass of wine...or it could be because it's been quite a while since I've worked on it). So thanks goes out to everyone and if this sucks...feel free to blame me. Sorry it's been so long! Enjoy!

Edit: I remembered one person to thank! Michelle! Michelle gets thanks because she's the reason I finally sat down to write this. Crazy lady hadn't ever seen Italian Job! Fortunately, I can quote that movie in my sleep (literally...) and so while I forced her to watch it, I wrote this up. That said, guess she's the reason behind all the typos too. BLAME HER! MUAHAHAH!

Snake's Perspective:

Everything I've ever read gives the impression that when one wakes up from a deep sleep or a coma, they're extremely fuzzy from the pain and the painkillers. Truth of the matter is, I went from asleep to awake in a split second when I heard a noise to the left of my head. My head whipped around and my world exploded in a riot of color. Now I understood. Groaning, my eyes clenched shut to ignore the grin I knew would be gracing Cub's face. Tossing my head around had not been my best idea. Keeping my eyes closed, I slowly put my head back on the pillow.

"Morning, sunshine..."

I could literally hear the grin on his face.

I moved to raise my arm in an attempt to flip him off, only to discover that moving my arm wasn't really an option. Confused for a second, I asked, "What happened?"

I heard the scraping of a chair and an exhale of breath. Preparing myself, I reviewed what I knew already. I had been in Egypt. I had gotten shot and then trampled. Alex had picked me up and taken me to the safe house. After that, it was a blur.

"Well, you got yourself shot..."

"Start after the safe house, I remember everything before that."

"Right. I got you to the safe house and you blacked out. I did all I could to keep you stable until we could get out of Egypt. Took three days but I finally got you here. They operated the second I brought you in two days ago. I already let Cass know. She went to school yesterday, but the nurses told us you'd be up today, so I let her stay here. Currently she is at the cafeteria. Welcome back to the land of the living."

I thought this over for a little bit. Fighting the urge to nod, I simply stated, "Thanks, Alex."

"No problem. The way I see it, I owed you. You took a bullet for me. And I'll keep owing you for a long time to come. It was the least I could do."

"Agreed. I hate bullet wounds."

He snorted. Guess he thought I was kidding.

"Anyway, the doctor said that you're going to be fine. The bullet didn't hit anything too terribly important. With a bit of physical training, you should be right as rain and ready to work again."

"Goody. Does that mean I'll be stuck behind a desk until I can go out again?"

"No clue! Us undercover guys do things differently."

I slowly turned my head towards him. "You sound entirely too happy about this."

"Not happy. Just...glad it wasn't me. Thanks, Josh."

Working my head back onto the pillow I mumbled, "Don't mention it."

We sat in silence for a bit while I turned the events of the past five days over in my head. The silence was split by an exaggerated, "Dad!"

I turned my head again, stomach rolling as the stars appeared in front of my eyes again. I fought the urge to vomit as Cub burst into laughter in the corner of the room.

"Shut the front door*," I grumbled under my breath, acknowledging that my daughter was in the room and that she was trying not to giggle as well.

She waited for the laughing to die down before asking "Hey dad...how are you feeling?"

Renewed snorts came from Cubs side of the room. Deftly ignoring him, I responded, "Been better, Cass. I missed you. How's life?"

She carefully sat down on the edge of my bed and filled me in on her life from the last two weeks while I had been abroad. It was comfortable, Cass, Cub, and I. Our dysfunctional family. Of course any moment of peace to be had naturally had to be interrupted. A knock on the door brought a stereo, "Come in," from all three of us. A teenager I had never met before poked his head in the door.

"Sam?" Cassie exclaimed.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Cub's hand inching away from his waistline. I was, once again, comforted by the safety precautions Alex took in protecting myself and my only daughter. I looked at him solemnly and he caught my eye. He nodded casually and looked back at the two conversing teenagers.

"What are you doing here?"

"Grizzle asked me to bring you your school work so that you didn't fall behind."

Cassie's eyes narrowed. "I'll be in class tomorrow. I'm not going to fall behind."

"Well, he didn't know when you'd be coming back. I think he just wanted to play it safe. You know how he is..."

"Sure, I know how he is."

"Anyway, here's the assignment. Do you think you're going to need any help on it?"

I saw her glimpse at the paper and start grinning. "Nope, I think I'm all set. Thanks for coming. Want me to walk you out?" With this question, she glimpsed at me and smiled mischievously.

Sam looked utterly confused. "Uhh...no. I think I'll be good. I'll see you in class tomorrow."

With that, he turned and walked away.

The second the door snapped closed, Cassie's eyes flew to mine.

"What was that all about," I asked.

She responded, "Grizzle is the nosiest person I know. I don't know what you two were talking about before I walked in, but there's no telling how long he was standing out there listening. Hope it wasn't anything too important. I bet you anything that he was sent here by Grizzle to spy because of the phone call between you two" and with that, she looked at Alex who rolled his eyes.

"He needs to get off his high horse and get over the fact that he won't be getting any answers from me."

I got the distinct feeling I was missing something but when I caught Alex's eye to get an explanation, he discretely shook his head and I dropped the topic. Apparently Cass didn't get the memo though.

"You ever going to tell me what the two of you talked about?"

Alex grinned, "Well that would be taking all the fun out of the situation, now wouldn't it?"

Cassie huffed and crossed her arms.

"So what is your homework on?" Distraction is one of my specialties.

"Nice change of subject, Dad."

Okay, so maybe not.

I held strong. "Either way, whatever your homework is, you must already know it since you said you didn't need him to tutor you..."

"Actually, you're wrong. I don't know it. But considering the fact that it's an entire lesson on how to use chemicals to clean water so that it's safe to drink, I figured I'd have a few people around who might be able to help me who weren't sent to spy on us..."

"Excellent thinking, Cass! Let's get started, shall we?" Cub pulled his chair closer and tucked his head over the homework assignment. He skimmed through it quickly and snorted. He picked up the paper to look on the other side. Finding it blank, he scoffed. "This is simple. Let's get to it."

"Don't do it for her Cub."

"Wouldn't dream of it, Josh."

And with that, we settled in for a quiet evening of family time.

Sam's Perspective

I arrived at school early today in order to report back to Mr. Grizzle what I had overheard. I knocked on his door and waited for him to wave me in.

"Morning, sir."

"Good morning, Mr. Rubenstein. Did you get Cassie's homework to her?"

"Sure did. And she told me that she would be back in class today so that she doesn't fall behind. She didn't need any help with tutoring, so I gave her the homework and left."

"Excellent, and did you find out what happened with her father."

"I overheard that he got shot...more than once. I think he was taking a bullet for the other guy in the room...the one that came in to pick Cassie up the other day, I think you called him Rider? Anyway, I think he took a bullet for Mr. McMan because Rider said something like, 'I owe you.' and Cassie's dad agreed."

Mr. Grizzle nodded slowly. "Thanks, Sam."

"No problem. Is that all, Mr. Grizzle?"

He didn't respond. He looked like he was thinking too hard. Confused, I said, "See you in class, sir." and walked out.

I left him with a contemplative look on his face. Worried for a second that I had betrayed Cassie's trust, my mouth twisted into a grimace which I then shook off. Her dad's injuries should be common knowledge, right? Weren't medical records open to the public? I wove through the growing crowd to get to my locker and quickly forgot all about Mr. McMan as I began thinking about the upcoming test I was to have in ten minutes.

A/N:

*So, if you've ever watched the show Castle, you might recognize this PG version of a not-appropriate-for-prime-time-television phrase. While I, personally, have no problems saying it…I figured once Cassie walked in the room, her dad would be more conscientious of the 16 year old in the room…

Thoughts? Reviews? Comments? Concerns? Cookies? I like cookies...

~Moldy